Station -indicator



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(No ModeM No. 462,138. Patented Oct. 2'?, v1891.

RSSB m /A/ VEN Tok? @No Model.) 2 sheets-#snm s. J. A. KANEA STATIONINDICATOR. No.` 462,138. Patented Oct. 27, 1891.

W/INESSES full, clear,

therefrom and are adapted to Unirse stares `.arent @einen Jenn A. KANE,new JERSEY.

srnrlonannicnron.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 462,138, dated 4October27, 12391.

Application tiled February 14, 1891. Serial No. 381,407. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it 11i/ay concern:

Be it known that l, JOHN A. KANE, ot Paterson, in the cenni-yet Passaicand State of New Jersey, have invented a new and ImprovedStationdndicator, of which `the following is a and exact description.

.lhe invention relates to indicators for use on railway-cars forindicating the successive stations along the road, the object being toprovide an ciiieient and durable indicator of ihischaracter.

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement oi parts, all`as hereinafter specifically described, and defined in the claims.

Reference is to bchad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification,

in which similar letters of reference indicatev correspondingl parte inall the figures.

Figure l is a front elevation of a stationindicator constructed inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is 'a similar view with the irontor door of the casin g opened and partly broken away. Fig. l is an endview. Fig. et is a broken view of the inside of the hinged door or frontof the casing, showing the latch devices therefor. Fig. 5 is a brokenplan view thereof. Fig. il is at-ransverse sectional elevation on line 06, Fig. Fig. 7 a like View on the line 7 7, Fig. 2, parts being omitted.Fig. S is a like View on line S S, Fig. Q, parts being omitted. lfig. 9an end elevation of the main operating mechanism or station-trippingdevices for automatically operating the indicator. Fig. l0 is a partlysectionalside view of the trip-arm support, and Fig. 11 is a sectionalplan view on line Il. ll of Fig. 9.

The casingA ot' the indicator is suitably fitted or formed in arailway-car transversely of the latter, and is formed with a hingedfront or door A', having on its inn'er side latch devices l, which areoperated `from the knob or handle i3', as hereinafter explained.

Inmthc easeA the main shaft Cof the indicator is suitably jonrnaled, theshaft being` extended at each end beyond the case A and provided witharms r, which extend radially betripped by the arm D, Fig. fl, of the'station-tripping devices, with which each station `along the roadisprovided, and by means 4ot' which'a partial of the" arinsjbuttenbloeksrotation is given to the shaft C. On the shaft C the main roller ordrnni E is fitted to rotate with said shaft, to whiclr'drnm E is seclredone end of the web F, ot' fabric or any snitable material, bearing thenames of the several stations, the rotation of the drum in `response tothe movements of its shaft C serving to successively displaythe names otthe several stations at the openingoiy in the front A of the case A.Parallel with the drum E and beneath the same a winding-roller G and aguide` roller ll are jonrnaled, respectively, in brackf ets orstandardsg g g and h 7i., the web F being Secured to the wwinding-'roller G, andpassing forward over the guide-roller ll to the drinn E. Thewinding-roller G carries a pinion g2, which meshes with a gear-wheel I,the shaft l ot which is jonrnale'd in thebrackets g g, and to the shaftI one end of a coiled spring Pis secured, its other end being secured toone of said brackets g or to other suitable xed supports. Thus as thedrum E is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in Figs. 6 and 7the spring I2 will be Wound, and when the drinn is rotated in theinverse direction of the arrow the spring tends to take up the slack,winding the web F on the roller G. At the ends of the drum E the same isprovided wiilrsquared hubs E', formed, preferably,

with rounded projections or beads e at the angles, and against one faceof each of said hubs a spring-acted controlling-head J bears. The headsJ are each formed with two arms j, which are' mounted in the bracketsjji, secured to and projecting from the opposite faces of the back ofthe case A, said arms passing tl'irongh apertures in said brackets andth rough apertures a in the case. I Around the armsyl spiral springs j*are wound and normally act to press theheads J against the hubs E of thedrum, and on the outer ends ,7" are adj ustably secured, as by washersf', held by pins, which enter suitable apertures in the said arms.Within the bracketsf yokesj, formed similarl y to said brackets, arearranged, the cross'- barsf ol said yokes being operated for the passagetherethrough of the arm j. The springsj-i thus abutV at their outer endsagainst the eross-bars'jl. The yokcsj are supported adjnstably at theirinner ends from the case A by boltsj", and by adjusting said bolts theuid yokes maybe moved to give more or less tension to the springs 73.The controllingheads J so arranged serve to arrest the rotary movementof the drum E, limiting its movement to a quarter-revolution.

The arm l) of the automatic trippingmechanism at each station is securedto a square shaft M, which is rounded where it rests in itssupporting-brackets M', and is yieldingly maintained in position topermit it to rock slightly by means of a spring, which iscoiled into aloop m', and its ends m2 are extended in opposite directions and aresecured to slides m, which are held on'platcs m,secnred to the verticalscrew-rods m, which pass through apertures in the bottoms of the hangersM2, wing-nuts m5 or other suitable nuts serving to hold the rods in thea'djusted position. By moving the ends of the spring up or down thedesired tension obtained.

In addition tothe main or station tripping devices, an auxiliaryhand-operated actuating device is provided for moving the drum E and theweb F in either direction. 'lhe auxiliary device is best shown in Fig.S,and comprises a vertically-disposed lever K, which is fulcrumed at7i'v on the case A, and hooks K', pivoted at about their centers in'theforked upper end of said lever, the hooks being oppositcly arranged. Thehooked ends 7c of the hooks K are connected with springs k2, having atendency to normally maintain said hooks out of engagement with therounded projections c of the square hub E', and to the opposite ends ofsaid hooks chains or cords K2 are secured and hang freely below the caseA in proximity to the lever K.` 'lhus by pulling on either ot' thechains K2 the hooked end of the corresponding hook K is thrown upwardinto engagement with the adjacent projection e, as shown in dotted linesin Fig. 8,whereby as the lever K is thrown on its tulcrum the hook lwill give a partial rotation to the drum E. If the opposite hook bethrown up and the lever K thrown in the opposite direction, acorresponding movement will be given the drum E. The auxiliary devicesthus serve to adjust or actuate the drum and web as desired when it isnot required to display the stations in the regular succession.

The names of the stations, such as Grand, are produced on the web F, andthe characters and letters St Next are permanently produced on the case,so that when a naine .on the web is presented at the opening theannouncement will be read in connection with the permanent characters,thus: Grand St. Next.

In connection with the indicator an alarm mechanism is employed toattract the attention ot' the passengers to the station announced, thealarm being as follows: l'n the periphery of the drum lt, at one end,recesses c are formed and so located that when the drum is at astandstill one of such recesses will be opposite an arm l, Fig. G,carried by hinged block L, which carries on its lower face acontact-plate l', which is arranged in connection with a secondcontact-plate Z2, such second contact-plate being held to the opposedblocl L', both blocks L L being normally held apart by a spring la. Fromthe contact-plates Z' Zl2 the line-Wires Z4 lead to a battery L2 andelectric bell L, the bell in the present instance being carried bythehinged front A' of the casing. The arrangement of the signal is suchthat as the drum E is rotated the spring-arm Z is forced from the recessc and acts to throw the hinged block L Vdownward and complete theelectric circuit by causing the plates l' Z2' to contact., the circuitbeing maintained closed until the next succeeding opening is broughtopposite the spring-arm l, permitting the blocks L L' to separate andbreak the circuit.

'lhe latch devices B for the door A', which are best shown in Figs. 4and 5, are as follows: At each end of the said door, on the inside,latches B2 in the form ofbell-cranks are pivoted and engage by one arm bwith catches b2 on the case A, the other arm b' of each catch serving asa stop to limit the movement of said latches. To the arms Z)areconnected wires b3, which extend tti-opposite ends of the lever b4,which is secured tothe spring-acted spindle bi ot' the knob l5', wherebyas the said knob is turned both latches B2 will be simultaneonslydisengaged from their respective catches b2 and permit the hinged doorto be opened.

By yieldingly mountingr the trip-arms D the necessary resistance isgiven to the arms c of shaft C, while at the same time all injuriousshocks are prevent-ed, the spring-acted controlling-heads J coactingwith the yielding trips D to reduce the shock.

`lly providing an auxiliary operating mechanism in addition to the mainautomatic trips the drum may be rotated at will in either direction, asmay be necessary' when the train is not traveling the whole length ofthe fread, and the stations, therefore, not required to be announced inthe regu-lar succession.

llavingthus described my inventio|`1,WhatI claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a station-indicator, the operating-arm provided with a horizontalrock-shaft M, having bearings M M', in combination with the springs m',coilcd oppositely at their inner ends around the said shaft, hangers atopposite sides of the shaft provided with vertically-adjustable plates0r seats, t0v which are secured the oppositely-projeetingouter ends m?of the saidI springs, substantially as set forth.

l 2. The combination, with the bearings M' M', andthe rock-shaft M,mounted therein and having an indicator-operating arm, ot' the hangersM? M2 at opposite sides of the shaft, screwsm', extending upA throughthe lower ends of the hangers and provided with adj listing-nuts, seatsin the hangers connected IOO IIC

anism to one to 4the upper ends of said screws, and the springs fm',eoiled around the said shaft in opposite directions, with their ends m2oonnected to said seats or plates, substantially as set forth.

3. In a ntzitiondndieetor, the Combination, with the'horizontal rockingshaft having an indieutor-operatingarm projecting therefrom, of aspring1 coiled at shaft and projecting outward at its opposite end fromthe shaft, and ein adjusting meehside of the shaft, and with whioh theontwardly-projeoting end of the spring is connected, whereby the tensionof the spring may he varied, substantially as set forth.

i. In nnindicator, the combination, with the main drinn having apoiygonnl head provided with lprojections, of the operating-lever li;having two oppositely-projecting hooks K 1i', pivoted between their endsto its upper end ind provided with springs k2, normally holding thornout of engagement with said head, and zi ehnin. or cord K2, secured tothe inner ends of said hooks and extending down within reach of theoperator, whereby hy pulling on either cord to throw its hook up intoengagement with said head and then rocking V.

its inner end about the,

the lever the druin may he rotated in either direction` substantially esset forth. l W

The combination, with the casing having an opening in its front toexpose the naine ofthe station, the drum within the casing provided withoperating mechanism and with a polygonal hub or plate, 0f the head J,bearing aga-inst the rear fece of the'hub or plate and provided witharms extending through 'the rear side of the casing at o. a', bearingsjy for seid arms, and springs on the said firms pressing said headinward, substantially as set forth. y 6. The combination, with the drumhaving,r a polygonal hub oir-plate E', ot' the head J, havingrearwardly-projecting firms, inner end outer braoketsj'j?, through whichsaid rods pass, yokesjsj Within the seid brackets and :tpertured attheir ends for the passage of the arms, the spiral springs pressing therods inward, and the buffers jij/'4 on the outer ends ot' the rodsbetween their collars L7'5 and the' end ofthe hraoiretjg, substantiallyas set forth.

JOHN fi. KANE.

Witnessesz,

J. L.' MOAULIFFE, C. SEDGWICK.

